Two men allegedly travel to Arkansas to collect cash from elderly fraud victim, unaware the person waiting for them was an undercover cop

Two men traveled to Texarkana, Arkansas, expecting to collect tens of thousands of dollars from someone they believed was an elderly fraud victim. They ended up walking into an undercover operation, with law enforcement officers waiting for them at the arranged pickups.

Mohamed Faizal Haque, 39, and Lin Chenghao, 45, were arrested on Sept. 22 and 23, 2026, respectively. Both face felony charges in Miller County Circuit Court after allegedly agreeing to collect money for overseas scammers. If the charges are proven in court, both men could spend considerable time behind bars.

According to Wealth of Geeks, investigators spent the week of Sept. 21 posing as elderly targets in conversations with overseas fraud networks. They let the calls and messages continue until the scammers arranged for couriers to collect the money in person. That was when officers moved in.

The approach also kept the overseas operators busy. While they believed they were arranging payments from vulnerable older people, investigators were gathering information and working to prevent money from reaching the networks.

The charges carry potential prison sentences of five to 20 years

Haque was arrested first, on Sept. 22, by Miller County sheriff’s deputies. Prosecutors filed formal charges against him on Oct. 1, accusing him of theft of property valued at more than $25,000 and unauthorized use of another person’s property to facilitate a crime. Both are Class B felonies.

The charges carry potential prison sentences of five to 20 years, along with a fine of up to $15,000, or both, according to the charging documents. Haque was released on Sept. 25 after a bonding company posted a $25,000 surety bond for him.

Lin was arrested a day later during another arranged cash pickup involving the 8th South Drug Task Force. He faces the same charges as Haque, but the court set a much higher bond in his case.

At Lin’s initial court appearance, a telephone interpreter was needed, and the court appointed him a public defender. His bond was set at $200,000. He remained in the Miller County jail ahead of an Oct. 13 court date.

Investigators say the operation reached beyond the two men. They identified fraud victims in Texas, Florida, Arkansas, and several other states, and were able to freeze transactions before some victims lost their savings. The networks involved have been linked to millions of dollars in losses across the country.

Families are being urged to be secretive about their financial details

The arrests also draw attention to a common tactic in elder fraud schemes: sending someone to collect money directly from a victim. These couriers, often called money mules, may be told to pick up cash, gold, or other valuables after scammers have spent days convincing someone that a payment is necessary.

Families are being urged to pay attention when older relatives become secretive about their finances, make large withdrawals they cannot explain, or suddenly have unfamiliar remote-access software installed on their computers. None of these signs alone confirms a scam, but an unexpected request to hand money to a stranger is reason enough to stop and check.